


The Heaven Cure

by nothinelsemattered



Category: Original Work
Genre: Apocalypse, Future Fic, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Science Fiction, Survival, Technology, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26781544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothinelsemattered/pseuds/nothinelsemattered
Summary: A way to see heaven was found. A way to see heaven was sold, as is the way it goes in this capitalistic nation. There was no accounting for glitches.This is a work I wrote years and years ago and published on Wattpad. However, I still like it. It's a short story, and I may edit it at some point to fit more with my current writing style, but I figured I would post it to this account anyway.THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN IN 2015 AND PUBLISHED TO WATTPAD IN MARCH OF 2016





	The Heaven Cure

**Author's Note:**

> This is an original work I wrote years and years ago and published on Wattpad. However, I still like it. It's a short story, and I may edit it at some point to fit more with my current writing style, but I figured I would post it to this account anyway. 
> 
> NOTE: Personally, I have changed a lot since the writing of this piece (it was officially written in 2015 and posted to Wattpad in March of 2016). I haven't extensively looked over it, but there may be phrases that I do not currently agree with. I plan to edit the work at some point, however, I am not at a space in my life where I can do that and I wanted to have it posted. If there are any problems anyone personally has with anything within this piece of work, please do not hesitate to reach out or comment on it.

The Heaven Cure. The biggest, most-wanted procedure of the ages. So many people had it by the time Asha had turned fifteen; it had been out since she was twelve, and she was sixteen now. In only three years, the vast majority of the population in richer countries had the procedure done. Even Asha's mother had it. The Heaven Cure was what they called the little microchip that they implanted into the patient's brain. The procedure was completely painless. The microchip tapped into the limbic system and the parietal lobe, allowing it to affect the emotions and senses of the patient with the microchip. It didn't make everything seem perfect, but it made life seem like your own personal heaven.

Well, that's what everyone had thought.

Asha didn't know many people like her. Well, like her in the sense of not having the microchip. Her mother had been saving up money and they had planned to get it for her on her birthday. But, the procedure cost more for teenagers, and even more for children, due to the ability for adaptability of the chip with developing brains. Some people were able to afford it for their entire family. However, Asha and her mother, the family of two, were not.

Asha and her mother had saved up only enough money for an adult procedure, and her mother already had it. So Asha hadn't gotten it.

At the time, she was a little resentful. Why had her mother gotten it, when Asha so clearly wanted it too? But looking back, she was glad. If she had gotten the implant, had the Heaven Cure microchip put into her brain, she would have been like them.

The day that everything went wrong started normal, much like most horrible days do. Almost no one had expected it, either, which is also quite like most horrible, life-changing days. Asha had gotten up, gotten dressed, and walked to the kitchen. She had a small conversation with her mother while making breakfast. Asha's mother had been acting a little weird a few days prior, but Asha had just assumed it was due to work, or something of the sort. She had no reason to believe that her mother would go insane. Sure, her eyes were a bit hazier than normal, but that wasn't something that Asha had caught on to. Who would blame her? She was just a teenager with her own worries, and as stated earlier, nobody really would have expected what came next.

Asha's mother was watching the news. There were reports of people acting strange, but there were always reports of that every few days or so. That day was different, though. There were more reports than normal. Asha remembered sitting on the couch, staring at the television, when her mother's mug shattered on the floor.

Asha sprang to her feet. She turned to see her mother spitting out all the coffee she had in her mouth.

"Poison! It's in my mouth, someone's put it in my coffee! It was in the cup! Asha! Help me!" her mother screamed. Asha, in a panic, grabbed her phone. She had just begun to dial 911 when the phone was violently snatched from her hands. Her mother threw the phone against the wall.

"Mom! Calm down! What's happening, why are you acting like this? That was my phone!"

"They're going to hurt you, they're going to hurt us, they're coming here because of me, we're all in danger, we need to leave!"

"What? Mom, who's they? What are you talking about? It's not funny, you're starting to scare me!"

"We need to go, Asha, we need to leave! Run and pack your things!" her mother ushered Asha into her room, then ran to her own. Asha, dazed and unsure, started to pack. She had no idea what was going on, but her mom was terrified, and that scared her. She snatched up the packed bag and ran to her mother's room.

"Mom! I packed, what now?! What's happening?!"

Her mother turned to her. Her expression, once vulnerable and full of fear, suddenly became hardened and cold. There were still traces of fear left, but she narrowed her eyes and took a step toward Asha. "You aren't Asha. Who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?"

"What? Mom, what are you-"

"What did you do with my daughter?!" her mother yelled, anger and terror in her voice. "Where is she?!"

"Mom, stop! It's me!"

"Where is my daughter?!"

"I'm right here!" Asha could feel a lump forming in her throat.

"Get out of my house! If you won't tell me where my daughter is, I'll find her myself, but you will get out of my house!" her mother ran at her. After a stumbling step, Asha took off through the house, her bag on her back. She ran through the hall, through the kitchen, through the living room, out the door, and away from the only family she had.

Asha dropped her bag at the door. She glanced back and made a split-second decision to abandon it. Whatever was making her mom act like that, she didn't want to face again. She loved her mother, but she was scared to death of her at that moment.

That day burned in Asha's memory. Asha, from a distance, had watched her mom destroy their house. She heard all the yells and screams of terror. She heard the sounds of things breaking. She heard her mom cursing at things that weren't there. Nothing was there. Her mother, the mother she had known, wasn't even there anymore, turned into some kind of crude imitation. Asha heard it all, standing on the sidewalk outside of her house, too afraid to go back, too afraid to walk away.

Asha was forced to move when a speeding car lost control and went off the road.

Asha ran out of the way of the car. A man, only a few paces from her, started yelling and running out onto the street. But he wasn't yelling because of the car that had gone off the road. He was yelling about something else and grabbing his head. He was screaming about a son, and begging for mercy. Asha, with no idea of what was truly happening, took off running again. Running from the man, from the house, trying to avoid hearing any of it.

The streets, and the people who walked them, were devolving into chaos. Not all at once, and not all in the same way, but it was happening. So many people, some Asha even recognized, all frenzied and wild-eyed. All in a panic. It was spine-chilling and horrifying. Then, Asha spotted Louise.

Louise had been a girl at school that Asha had known quite well. She, like almost anyone else, had the Heaven Cure microchip. She had been friendly with Asha, not too close, but a bit more than an acquaintance. She had always been so happy, and so full of life. Now, Asha's gaze was trapped on her lifeless corpse.

The Heaven Cure, Asha thought. She had it. Louise had it. It was so rare for someone to not have the microchip in their heads, but as Asha looked around, she realized that everyone whom she recognized had the Heaven Cure. They were in chaos, and she was fine. It was the only thing that made sense.

Asha looked at Louise. She couldn't tell what had happened to her, and she really didn't want to know. It was too much to process at the moment, so Asha stumbled away.

What's going on?

Asha suddenly felt two rough, strong hands on her shoulders. They forcefully turned her around. She was facing the owner of the hands, a panicked, frantic-looking, hazy-eyed man. The man was strong, much stronger than Asha, who admittedly was short and a little scrawny for her age. She couldn't break his grip.

"You need to escape! The monsters will destroy us all!" the man shouted into her face. Asha continued to try and break the man's grip. He was obviously like the others, and whatever he was seeing was not what Asha could see, or maybe even imagine. "Do you see them?! They're all around us!"

"Let me go!" Asha screamed.

"Wait... you're one of them! You're one of those monsters! I won't let you hurt me, you won't kill me!" the man thrust her away from him, then swung his large fists. Asha let out a shriek of fear and threw up her hands, trying to block the fists from hitting her face.

Her small hands did little to stop the fist from hitting the side of her head. Her world was spinning, then falling, then her vision went black as she felt herself crumple to the ground.

Hours went by before Asha opened her eyes again. She noticed a thing pressed against her back. It was hard, and it was hot. She sat up, which resulted in an explosion of pain, like a firework show in her head. She suddenly remembered what had happened. Her mother was among the affected. People were not themselves. A man had punched her and rendered her unconscious. Her head pounded with pain. It hurt to move, but she somehow stood up, taking in the carnage around her.

There were many bodies strewn about in the streets. Asha couldn't tell if they were dead or alive. She didn't want to find out. She didn't want to know how many people were dead. It would make her entire situation too... Real. She didn't want it to be real. But a part of her knew it was, and that same part was the part of her mind that made her turn towards the source of immense heat to her left. She was able to see an old building through her dotted eyesight, flames licking the walls, black smoke curling into the sky. It wasn't too close to her, but the heat was horrible. She took a shaky step away from the building. Her vision was laced with black dots, and everything faded in and out of clarity. It was hard to walk when she couldn't see. She could make out blurry shapes all around her, but she was unable to see what, or who, they were. She couldn't focus on them. She had to focus on walking. She had to focus on getting away from the building. She had no idea how long she was unconscious for, but from the little she was able to see, things had gotten so much worse. Her brief moments of clear vision yielded only carnage and ruins of what once was. She tried to take a step and she fell. The world around her, the blurs of orange and black and gray, all started to fade to black, and her ears were ringing.

When she opened her eyes again, the ringing was mostly gone, though things around her were bright again. Things were blurry, but she could only see part of the sky either way. The rest of it seemed to be filled with smoke.

Asha got to her knees slowly. She put her hands on the rough ground, slowly, slowly pushing herself to be on her feet. She slowly straightened to her back, hearing a small pop. Her head was still pounding, but it wasn't enough to make her blackout again. At least, not yet.

She couldn't hear much of what was around her over the pound of her head. She could tell it was the next day, or at least she thought. Her vision faded in and out like before, but it wasn't as bad. Looking around she saw the carnage was even worse than when she woke up before.

Blood on the streets, corpses on the ground. Rubble from nearby buildings strewn about, and glass shards all around. The shops around her were either on fire, had been broken into, or were torn apart. Two people were fighting inside of one, and Asha felt too paralyzed to try and stop them. One had blood all over his face, and parts of his body were bleeding.

Asha started to shake a little.

The other was worse than the first. She had glass shards on her hands, cuts all over her face and arms, bruises and burns all over her face and arms, and the parts of her shirt that Asha could see were red. All red.

Asha found the feeling in her legs. The two punched at each other, ripped at clothing, shouted, and screamed so many things at each other, but Asha's back was turned. As fast as she could manage on her own, though stumbling and falling occasionally, Asha got away from them.

The Heaven Cure must be it, Asha thought, there's no other reason why all these people would be affected and I wouldn't. So many people have it anyway, it would have affected all of them. Asha stopped for a second to let that thought sink in. She looked around her. Nothing was better here; if anything it was worse. Car alarms went off, a thing she could hear over the pounding in her head, which was increasing the more she moved, though she didn't care. The harsh wind blew the smoky air, filled with small bits of rubble, at Asha. She squinted her eyes and tried to shield her face from the stinging pain. She waited until the wind died down, then started again. That would explain how everything is in ruins so fast. I never thought something like this could happen...

Ahsa felt a hand grab her. Out of an impulse, possibly instinct, she lashed out at the direction of the hand. After the man before, the one that hit her, she wasn't taking any chances. She saw a young-looking face for a fraction of a second, but it, like most other things around her, faded into a blur. The pounding in her head was worse than before.

"Stop!" Asha heard a voice shout. It sounded a bit distant, harder to hear over the pounding of her head. But Asha could tell the voice belonged to someone young, younger than herself. "Are you one of them? Are you crazy too?" she could tell the owner of the voice was scared. She stopped her attempts to attack it.

"I don't... have... don't have the... microchip," Asha struggled to reply to the voice, barely managing to get the words out.

"N-Neither do I... I know people who do, though. They're all different. It's not right, it's scary! What's going on? Am I going to become like them? I don't want to be like that!" the young voice cried. It was starting to become clearer the more she listened. The pounding in her head was going down. Asha closed her eyes. If I could just sit down...

"I'm sure," she reassured the young voice, "and I... don't know. People are acting... insane. But I don't... think that will happen... to me. Are... are you alone?" she asked, putting a hand to her head. The pain was subsiding.

"Yeah... I'm alone. Why are you talking weird?"

Asha noticed the young voice changed the subject quickly. "I... got hit... hard, in the head."

"Oh... Are you okay?"

"I'll... be okay... the pain is starting to go away."

"Okay... People with the chip aren't acting normal at all. Do you think it could be that?"

"I'm not sure... How old are you?"

"I'm nine. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen. You're nine and you're alone?"

"We should try to find more people without the Heaven Cure. There's got to be more than just us, right? It'll be safer, I think," there it was. The voice had changed the subject again. Asha opened her eyes to discover that the voice belonged to a small child, a little taller than the average nine-year-old.

Asha debated on whether or not to call the child out on changing the subject. She decided against it. "Okay. I'll need your help, though."

"Why?"

"The pain is going away, but it will still be hard for me to walk. Can you look around us?"

"Yeah... Why?"

"Is there anyone there?"

"A few people... They don't seem interested in us. I don't know why. Most people who were affected have tried to attack me when I pass by. It's weird. Do you know why?"

Asha tried to look around. With her vision still a bit blurred, she couldn't see much. With a frown, Asha answered the child, "No, I haven't got a clue. But We should probably get moving if we're going to. Just because these people haven't attacked us yet doesn't mean they won't."  
"Okay. Where should we go?"

"I don't know. I can't see much around us. You'll have to guide me."

"What? How?"

"Just lead me. Try to avoid being around as many people as we can. We can't risk getting hurt by them."

"I'll try," the child took her hand, "how far can you see, if you can see anything?"

"Well, it's not that I can't see. I can see shapes in the distance. My vision is just blurry. I need you to be able to see the path ahead."

"Oh, okay."

"What if I mess up, though?"

"You won't. I believe in you. Now let's go."

"Got it, chief."

Asha looked at the child. They were grinning. Asha rolled her eyes, "My name is Asha, not chief. You can call me that."

"Got it, Asha. I'm Max. I'm going to do my best to not be scared of the people and to lead you."

"It's okay if you're scared. I'm scared too."

"But you're a teenager!"

Asha laughed a little, "Max, teenagers get scared too. Everyone does."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Listen to me, Max. You can be scared, but avoid freezing up because of it. We need to avoid all the people we can, because we can't be sure who has the Heaven Cure and who doesn't. It doesn't matter if they're attacking us or not, because while some of them aren't attacking, some of them are. We don't want to run into those people. Hopefully, this is all something that will just get fixed, whatever it is, and everyone will go back to normal," Asha said. She closed her eyes, but almost instantly opened them again. The backs of her eyelids were filled with memories of her mother's actions. Asha shivered slightly, and the small hand holding her own held it a little tighter.

Everything that she could make out around her, despite the blurriness of her vision, was in ruins. It was horrible. Asha took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. With all that was going on, it was a challenge.

A sudden deafening scream set her nerves on edge again and made her jump. It could have been the woman from before. It could have even been the man, Or this person could have suffered an even worse fate than the fight that the two before had been in. Asha didn't know.

Max was still holding her hand, but Asha was suddenly being dragged as Max ran.

"Max!"

"They're coming!" Max's voice sounded scared, but it had a hint of something else...

"Where are we going?!"

"I don't know, but we need to run!"

"How close are they?!" Asha tried to look behind them, but stumbled and looked back at the ground, staying focused on running.

"I can't tell! Close enough!"

Asha's head was screaming with pain again. It was agonizing, but the affected people were close enough to scare Max.

"We can't get away! They're following us!"

Asha could just barely hear the yelling of those behind them over the pounding of her head. It was hard to hear Max. She tried to speak, unable to hear her own voice very well, "Just keep running!"

A blurred shape ahead of her was abruptly pulled to the side, and Asha felt Max's hand leave her own.

"M-!" she began to shout the child's name, but a hand clamped over her mouth, two other hands grabbing her arms and dragging her to them. She couldn't tell where she was. The harsh light of the place compared to the dim light of twilight blinded her even further.

"Do you have the microchip?!" a cold, adult voice shouted their question at her.

"N-no!"

"How should we believe you?! Everyone else out there is affected, that might have been why you were running in the first place!"

"If you think I have the Heaven Cure, then why did you drag me in here?!" Asha retorted, her vision mostly black.

The adult voice didn't seem to have an answer. Or, at least, Asha didn't hear the answer before she blacked out.

This time when Asha awoke, she wasn't on anything hard. The material under her was soft. She slowly sat up, putting a hand to her head. It was wrapped in bandages. She looked around, her vision cleared. She was in a room, at what looked like a hospital.

No, not a hospital... There are no hospitals around here. Doctor's office, maybe, Asha thought, slowly standing up. The door to the room was open, and voices wafted in from the hallway. She walked over, opening the door enough to get out, and walked into the hall. She looked through a window that saw into the waiting room. There were two adults, two teenagers, and a child. The child, she recognized, was Max. One of the adults spotted her looking and waved for her to come in. Asha nodded a little and walked to the door.

As she opened the door to the waiting room and entered, everyone looked up at her. Max smiled.

"She's awake," one of the adults muttered. He was a bit burly, and Asha recognized his voice as the one who had briefly interrogated her before her spell of unconsciousness.

"Yeah, we noticed that," a teenager dressed in tattered jeans and a band shirt snapped. She can't be that far from my age, Asha observed.

"Don't use that tone with me, girl," the adult man glared at the teen, who sat up straight from her previous lounging position.

"Really? What tone? People are losing it outside and you're worried about the tone of voice I use?"

"Don't pull that crap, kid. I'm in charge here, and-"

"Actually, Brutus, I'm in charge." Asha glanced at the woman who had waved her in, having finally heard her speak. Her voice had a sort of commanding tone to it, as if she knew people would listen. The woman stood up. The man, Brutus, was instantly quieted. "Now," she looked at Asha, "you must be confused."

"A little," Asha admitted, glancing around, "but it's hard not to be. People outside, anywhere you look, maybe even everywhere, are suffering."

"Yes, we've noticed. How does your head feel?"

"My head? It's not as bad as before. But why am I here? Why did that guy, Brutus I guess, pull me and Max in here?"

"Because we believe that banding together is better than facing the Heaven Cure victims, as they surely are, on our own."

"It's what, like, everyone does in the movies and books and shows," the teen girl added, examining her nails with a bored gaze, though her eyes occasionally darted around the room, disproving her laid back, uncaring air.

"Okay, well, then why aren't there more than this? And you two are adults," Asha motioned towards the woman and Brutus, "it's cheaper for you two to get the procedure, how are you unaffected?"

"You may think it's cheaper, but it still costs quite a bit of money. As for your first question... There aren't any more people, because some have already fallen victim to the insanity of those who have the Heaven Cure microchip implanted into their brains."

"What?"

"She means that people are dead," the teen girl grumbled.

"D… dead? How?" Asha stammered.

"You were outside. Max told us that you two almost got attacked, so I assume you know how dangerous those outside can be. Not everyone was able to get away."

"We're almost certain it's all been caused by the microchip," the other teenager finally spoke up. His voice was quiet, and he adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "There isn't much of any other explanation that makes sense. I think someone might be controlling it, but it's too early to tell... It's too many people all at once to have just been a shortage or something like that."

Asha didn't know what to say. It was so much to process.

"But it can't be everywhere... Right?" Max leaned forward.

"That's where you're wrong, kiddo," the teen girl held up her phone. "The Heaven Cure was a global thing. Things are like this all over the Earth."

"Does the internet still work?" Asha asked, her voice sounding a bit dazed.

"Well, some parts of it do. It's still up. For how long, I have no idea. I imagine more things will start to break down. The information I have is only from people without the Heaven Cure posting things on their social media. I've tried to make a few calls, but not many people are picking up. I think phone lines aren't functioning right," the teen girl turned on her phone as she talked, moving her finger along the screen, the dim light shining in her eyes.

"The... the government... they'll solve this, right? They know what's going on, they can fix it... right?" Asha was starting to get freaked out. She couldn't deny that this was happening anymore.

"A lot of government officials had the Heaven Cure, Asha. It was supposed to be infallible. Nothing was supposed to be able to happen to it. It was perfect," the adult man said, shaking his head.

"That didn't work though... And no one knows why," the teenage boy sighed. "It could have been someone controlling the Heaven Cure, but I don't think that could happen... I've done a lot of research on the microchip. Besides, honestly… do you think government officials are on your side in this?"

“He’s right, you know,” the girl spoke once more, “everyone is on their own. No more sweet talking politicians to quell the masses. This is chaos, and no one is in charge of anyone.”

Max said what Asha was thinking, "This is scary."

The teenage girl looked over at Asha, "So why don't you have it? We all have a reason."

"My mom was trying to get the money together to get me it on my birthday... She found out that it was more than she thought... She... She already had it... She chased me out of the house..."

"I was against the idea of having anything like that in my head. It seemed too good to be true. Now we know," Brutus said.

"I wanted it. But I had to pay for my knee surgery, and that took almost all my money. I thought I'd be able to earn it back, but then this all happened," the woman said. She smiled at Asha. "I'm Learah, by the way." Asha nodded in reply.

"They told me it wouldn't work right in my head. I don't entirely know why, but it might be because of all the concussions I've had," the teenage girl shrugged, "and if we're doing introductions here, I'm Selene. The nerd over there is my brother, Simon."

"I could have introduced myself," Simon looked over at Selene, adjusting his glasses a little.

"I know."

"Well, when they said Selene couldn't have it, I didn't want it as much... I was also researching it, trying to find out exactly why they wouldn't let her have the microchip... I didn't get to finish before all this. But I did learn a lot about the Heaven Cure."

"He's a nerd," Selene said with a grin. Simon rolled his eyes.

"What about you, Max? We've all said why we can't, what about you?" Asha asked. In all honesty, she was curious. She knew it cost even more for children than it did for teenagers, but she had a feeling that wasn't it.

"I... I don't know why," Asha didn't know for sure, but she had a feeling that Max wasn't telling the truth.

"Same, kid," Selene couldn't seem to sit still in her chair. Every time Asha looked over, she was in a new position. Right now, she was hanging upside-down off the edge of the seat.

"How did you all get together here?" Max asked. Changing the subject again. Just like earlier.

"I'm a receptionist here," Learah said, pointing to the desk. "I came in early for work, and there was only, say, one or two others in here. When it started, like all the rest, one ran outside, and the other tried to attack me. Luckily, I know how to defend myself."

"I saw the two fighting and went in to try and help Learah," Brutus admitted, "then we started to realize something was wrong outside."

"Selene and I were helped by Brutus and Learah. We had been in the car, dad was driving us to school, but he crashed it," Simon said. He didn't say anything else, but Selene picked up the story for him.

"They saw the car crash, and saw my dad run from it. Wasn’t any kind of major crash, but Simon and I were too shocked to react."

"We saw the kids in the car. I was a little hesitant to do anything first, to be honest, and with everyone around us acting like that," he gestured outside, "who could blame me? But we got the two out and brought them here," Brutus explained.

"We thought waiting it out would be best. So, we used a few things we found here and there and we put together a small barricade on the door. We're still technically trying to wait it out, because none of us understand this. The best one to talk to about that would be Simon," Learah gestured over to him.

Simon took a deep breath, "I'm not an expert on things like this. I like apocalypse stuff, like zombies, but I wouldn't have imagined that people we knew, people in our town, our neighborhood, our family, would... yeah. That's not something you imagine, it's just not something that happens. It's terrifying."

"I think we can all agree there," Asha muttered. She didn't know who these people truly were before people started to go rage out and destroy everything. She didn't know how much it mattered, truthfully. They had helped her, possibly saved her life, and that was something Asha appreciated. She looked around and realized the conversation had gone on while she had been thinking.

"...though we weren't prepared. We don't have any more food, the stuff in Simon and Selene's lunches only lasted us yesterday," Brutus sighed. So I was blacked out for most of yesterday. I'm surprised no one tried to kill me, or at least succeeded.

"We'll have to make a run for supplies," Learah stood up.

Selene looked down at her phone. "Guys... We need to plan to be here for a while."

"What? What happened?" asked Max eagerly.

Selene looked at Max. Her voice was grave, "This is going to be hard to fix. The white house is destroyed. Someone flew a plane into the statue of liberty. People have set off bombs everywhere. Some people had access to guns. People all over are dead and dying. We need to be able to stay safe for as long as possible."

"My sister has a point," Simon stood up and started to pace, "if we don't get enough supplies, we could cause ourselves our dooms. I don't want to kill anyone, but that's what people would do to zombies. I think the only way to stop them would be in the brain, where-"

"Simon, Simon, hold on. No one said anything about killing," Learah held up her hands, standing up. "We don't want to kill anyone."

"I know, I know. But if we have to..."

"We won't have to. That's not an option. You don't... We don't... We won't cause more casualties than this thing already has."

"I agree with Learah," Asha said, looking at Simon. How can he even consider killing people? They might not be themselves, but they're still people. We can't just kill them.

"You never know, something could still happen. This all could just be something that passes," Brutus said. Selene started to say something, but he cut her off, "Before you say it, Selene, I know it's not likely. But we can't lose hope. That's when things start getting bad."

"I'm hungry," Max looked down at the ground, speaking with a quiet voice.

"That's why we need to make the supplies run. Who should go?" Learah looked around the room for volunteers. Simon glanced at Asha, and she saw it out of the corner of her eye.

Asha took a deep breath. By that glance, Simon seemed to think that she should go, though whether she was capable or he just wanted her gone, she had no idea. Asha took a deep breath, put on a grin, and looked at Learah. I can do this. I can help. "I'll go."

"Alright, there's one. I'm going too. Is anyone else coming?" Learah looked around. No one volunteered.

"I'm staying here," Selene asserted.

"I'll g-"

"Simon is staying here too," Selene cut her brother off again. He pretended to act annoyed, but Asha caught the grateful glance that Simon sent at Selene. "So is Max," Selene glanced over. Max nodded.

Learah sighed, "Brutus?"

"I'd rather stay," Brutus looked at the child and the two teenagers that were staying back, "I can help Selene, Simon, and Max look for supplies here. We haven't been here long and there's got to be places that we skipped or didn't search enough."

"That's true. Okay, Simon and Selene, empty your backpacks," Learah commanded.

"Why?" Simon asked defensively.

"Simon, they're not just going to carry everything in their arms. Come on, you're supposed to be the smart one here," Selene teased, reaching for her backpack. She took something out of the top and quickly shoved it in her pocket. Asha didn't see what it was. She then turned her bag upside-down and let everything fall out. Notebooks, folders, two binders, sharpies, pens, pencils, and scraps of paper scattered on the floor.

"Shut up," Asha heard Simon mutter as he grabbed his bag. Unlike Selene, he carefully took everything out of his bookbag. A set of headphones, three journals, a large fabric case, which Asha guessed was for his papers, a library book, and a pencil case all came out of the bag. Simon set each item on the ground with caution and tossed his heavy-duty bag to Learah. Selene followed his example, tossing her bag to Asha. They were the good kinds of bags, the kind Asha had wanted. Hers were always breaking under the weight of all of the stuff she shoved into it. She knew that they couldn't afford much though, and at the time she was happy with getting a cheap bookbag if it meant that she was able to get the Heaven Cure faster.

Asha looked at Simon and Selene. Compared to her, they seemed rich. But money wasn't something that she could worry about at the moment. She needed to get supplies for the group so they could last out whatever the Heaven Cure had become.

Asha slipped the backpack on and looked at Learah. Learah nodded at Brutus, who walked with her down a hall. Not knowing what else to do, Asha followed them until they came to a door with boards nailed across it.

"We found the boards outside," Learah explained, "and we thought it was best to block the door."

"That's smart," Asha said, watching as Brutus took a hammer and pulled the nails out of the board.

"Three knocks. You know how," Brutus said to Learah, who nodded.

"You two have a system? Have you been out?"

"Yeah, we do. And yes, I was. I had tried to go out to help a girl, but... When I got there, I couldn't..." Learah didn't continue. She didn't need to. Asha simply nodded in understanding and followed as Learah ran out the door.

The two tried to stay out of sight to anyone on the streets or sidewalk. "If they can't see you, they can't attack you," Learah explained. They walked sometimes, ran sometimes, checking in buildings occasionally. None of the buildings yielded anything useful. Everything was either destroyed, buried, or taken. Asha was again awed at how fast things had been able to break down like this. It was so sudden, so startling.

"You're thinking about how this all happened pretty quickly, aren’t you, kid?" Learah said, a small grin on her face.

"Yeah... How did you know?"

"I'm magic. Also, you were talking to yourself."

"I was?"

"Yup."

"That's embarrassing..."

"Yup."

"But didn't it? It seemed like everything happened so quickly."

"It really didn't though, if you think about it. Asha, do you watch the news? There's always some kind of story of someone going insane, and almost all of them had the microchip. In the past few days, there were more. Did you notice that?"

"Yeah, but I just thought-"

"You just thought it was something normal. So did everyone else. But it's not. None of this is normal. Having a piece of software in your head... That's not normal, Asha."

"I guess not..."

"It's not. The more and more I look around, the more I think we all should have just left this Heaven Cure thing alone. But with the temptation of happiness... Well, who wouldn't want to be happy all the time? For some people, happiness like that can't be achieved by themselves. Being able to be happy all the time, or at least most of the time... Now that would tempt anyone."

Asha thought for a moment. Then she nodded. "You're right. But it seems too good to be true if you think about it."

"Oh, yeah. Most definitely. Being happy all the time? Even most of the time seems impossible, at least to me," Asha watched as Learah looked around, talking with caution, her voice quiet. Asha hadn't even known her a full day, yet this adult had earned her respect. In the way she talked, the way she seemed to only want what was best for the group. In the way she held herself, not like she was more important than the others, but like she was ready to take charge whenever she needed to.

"Yeah," Asha said in quiet agreement. She spotted a building ahead, something that looked promising. The outside wasn't too damaged, though that didn't mean anything about the inside. She looked at Learah for her opinion.

Learah nodded, walking forward. She took a glance around. "Only two of the people are standing over here, I think we might be okay." Standing? Why did she specify that? Her thought was answered once she was able to see the road in front of the building.

Three corpses were lying in the road. There were two others on either side of the road. Asha couldn't tell what killed them, and she didn't know if they had the Heaven Cure or not. It was impossible to tell.

All except one. A young man, one of the corpses in the road, had a huge gash across the side of his face. There was bruising all around it, and it made Asha reach a hand to where her own bandage was. Even with him, though, she had no idea whether he had the Heaven Cure or not.

It doesn't matter, Asha told herself, worry about you. Worry about Max. Worry about getting the supplies to be able to be safe. Don't think about the bodies.

If she tried hard enough, sickening as it was, she could almost see the corpses as sleeping, not as lifeless shells of what once was people.

Asha slowly crept forward, avoiding making any sound so the standing people wouldn't be attracted to her. Learah walked towards the building. She walked with confidence, but Asha could also see a lot of caution and thought placed into wherever Learah stepped. Asha looked down, focusing her mind on the path, determined to not make a sound. Then she heard the clang of what sounded like something metal, followed by a stream of curses. One of the standing people turned to them. Her eyes widened, then narrowed. "You two are the ones who bombed the city! You'll pay for destroying my home, and for stealing away everything I love!" the woman yelled, in a voice so heartbroken that it almost made Asha want to cry.

"Asha, run!"

Asha ran after Learah, who was running towards the building. The standing woman started to run after them. The two were fast, but the woman, fueled only by what Asha could guess was fear, was hot on their heels. The sounds made the other person scream. Their scream was pure horror, and as the person stepped back, they tripped over a pipe from a nearby destroyed building. Asha needed to turn away. She needed to look back at the building that she was running towards, she couldn't risk hurting her head ag-

A hand grabbed her and yanked her inside of the building. Learah slammed the doors shut behind Asha and held them that way. They were shaking. The woman wanted to get in.

"Asha! Go fill the bags! Find anything you can in here!" Learah tossed Asha the bag from her own back. Asha nodded and took off, frantically searching around the building for anything that could be of use. She found a kitchen. Jackpot. She ran to the cupboards, grabbing out all the food she could. She made sure to get all the canned food. She glanced at the refrigerator, then ran to it, looking for- Water! She grabbed it all out of the refrigerator, all that she could fit in the bag. The two bags had almost been full, but Asha checked one last place. "Hurry!" Learah called from the doors.

"I'm trying!" Asha shouted as she ran to the bathroom, trying to find a medicine cabinet. The fact that the place they had chosen to stay at was a doctor's office had fled her mind. Her mind had gone to the basics - what she knew people needed to survive; food, which she got, water, which she got, shelter, which they had, and somewhere on that list, she knew medicine fit in. She didn't find a medicine cabinet, though she did find some ace bandages. She shoved them into one of the backpacks and ran to the door. "Okay! I have everything I could fit!" Asha told Learah, and it was true, for the backpacks she had were bulging with items, and both heavy to carry. Learah's face was streaked and glistening with sweat, and the woman outside the door was close to pushing it open. Asha's eyes widened.

"Good! Drop the bags, I need your help with this door!" Learah commanded. Asha, only half thinking about it, followed Learah's instructions. Asha pressed herself against the door. The woman outside must have been enhanced by her fear, or some kind of force, because though she didn't look it, she was able to make holding the doors closed a struggle for both Asha and Learah. Asha was starting to sweat after just a minute of holding it closed. How did Learah do this on her own?

Asha's head was starting to hurt again. The strain she was putting on her body was horrible. Her muscles were screaming at her to stop, but she couldn't let the woman in. The woman's hazy eyes had an evil sort of look in them, and Asha didn't doubt for one second that if the woman got in, she would try to murder both Learah and Asha.

Asha's fear turned into adrenaline, and she found herself having more strength to keep the doors closed. Then, Learah gave out.

Learah slid down the door, breathing very heavily, holding her head. She was shaking, and sweat covered her entire body. Asha tried to hold up, but she couldn't. Not without the strength of Learah.

Asha looked down at Learah. Learah had a look on her face that Asha didn't like.

"I have a plan," Learah said, her voice raspy.

"Am I going to like it?"

"Probably not. But we have no choice. When I say so, you let go of the door and grab the bags. You need to run as fast as you can for the doctor's office. Knock three short times, then pause, and knock one more time. Brutus will let you in."

"What about you?"

"I'll catch up," Learah grinned. "Okay, kid. Ready? One. Two. Three. Now!" Asha let go of the door and went for the bags. The doors burst open, but just as they did, Learah ran out. The affected woman's curiosity was piqued, and she left Asha to run after Learah. Asha started to run, the two bags heavy on her back. She could tell they were going to leave bruises where they hit her.

Asha ran. She ran faster than she ever did before, her fear fuelling her. She let her feet carry her to the doctor's office. She followed Learah's instructions, her lungs on fire. She knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Brutus opened it. Just as he did, Asha heard Learah scream.

Asha knew that Learah wouldn't have been able to get away in time. Her strength was gone. The woman had to have gotten to her. And Asha just let her.

Asha told herself that was what Learah wanted. That was what she had been told to do.

But it didn't feel right, and now she had to listen to Learah's screams.

Asha was sick with herself. She had just let Learah die. She didn't know if she could have helped her or not, but she could have tried. She didn't have to just let Learah sacrifice herself like that.

Her ears were ringing. Brutus was talking, he looked furious, but Asha couldn't hear anything he said. She couldn't hear anything anyone said.

She only heard the screams of the woman she let go. The woman she let die.

It's my fault.


End file.
